Saturday, January 17
Women’s Agriculture Summit
The 15th annual Women’s Agriculture Summit hosted by the Johnson County Cattlewomen will take place Saturday, January 17, at The Playhouse in downtown Buffalo, Wyoming.
The Johnson County Cattlewomen organization was established in 1953 to support and promote beef and agriculture in general.
The agenda for this years event:
8:30-9 a.m. — Registration
9-9:45 a.m. — Jennie Gordon, Wyoming’s First Lady, on “The Wyoming Hunger Initiative”
9:45-10 a.m. — Break
10-11:15 a.m. — Dr. Rose Digianantonio, “Infectious Diseases & Biosecurity”
11:15-11:30 a.m. — Break
11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. — Andrea Allen, “Turning Pain into Purpose”
12:15-1:30 p.m. — Lunch
1:30-2:45 p.m. — Sara Hollenbeck, “Pasture to Profit”
2:45-3 p.m. — Break
3-4 p.m. — Sara Hollenbeck, “Marketing War Room”
4:15-5:30 p.m. — Shopping
Pre-register by Friday, January 9, for $45. Registrations received after January 9 are $55. Registration includes lunch.
In addition, the Johnson County Cattlewomen are partnering with the Buffalo Theater for a showing of “The Real Yellowstone,” a documentary. Happy hour with hours d’oeuvres begins at 6 p.m., the movie begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for a single, $25 for a couple, with proceeds to benefit the Johnson County Cattlewomen.
The event’s speakers:
Prior to becoming First Lady, Jennie Gordon managed day-to-day operations at Merlin Ranch, the family’s cow-calf and Heifer development operation located in Johnson County. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska until her family moved to Buffalo. The First Lady received her bachelor’s degree in health sciences from the University of Wyoming. She worked for 15 years as a laboratory medical technologist at Sheridan Memorial Hospital. When Governor Matthew H. Mead appointed Mark Gordon to serve as Wyoming Treasurer in 2012, Jennie took over management of the Merlin Ranch full time. The ranch has garnered national recognition for its environmental stewardship and conservation achievements, as well as efforts to promote the sale of Wyoming beef worldwide. Jennie previously served on the board of the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust and is a graduate of the Wyoming Leadership Education and Development (L.E.A.D.) class. In October 2019, Jennie launched the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, whose mission is to end hunger in Wyoming. The initiative works to prevent food insecurity by increasing awareness and support for the work of local anti-hunger organizations statewide.
Dr. Rose Digianantonio completed veterinary school at Colorado State University in 2018 with an interest in food animal medicine and herd health. Since then, she worked at a mixed animal practice in southern Colorado and completed a residency in herd health and reproduction at the University of California-Davis. After completing her residency, she started as the Wyoming Assistant State Veterinarian in August 2023. Her main interests are in infectious disease management and disease epidemiology for large animal species. As Wyoming Assistant State Veterinarian, she has enjoyed conducting producer and veterinarian outreach on regulatory diseases and working on grant projects related to biosecurity and animal disease traceability.
Andrea Allen along with her husband Shane and daughter Molly formed the Cowboy Cole Memorial Foundation to advocate for suicide prevention and mental health awareness after the loss of their son and brother, Cole, in October of 2021. Andrea is going to share some of the projects that they are working on to help reduce the suicide rate and help with mental health awareness.
Sara Hollenbeck is a rancher and entrepreneur from Molt, Montana, where she and her family raise sheep, cattle, goats, and horses. In 2015, she founded High Five Meats to connect local beef, pork, and lamb directly to consumers. Sara’s work has been featured in the Emmy Award–winning documentary FarmHer, PBS’s Moveable Feast, Montana tourism campaigns, and the international reality series Montana Wild in France. Known online as the “Sara Sheep Lady,” she blends storytelling and humor to share the real, unfiltered side of ranch life. Passionate about connecting consumers to agriculture, Sara brings high energy, authenticity, and fresh insight to audiences eager to better understand food, ranching, and the future of agriculture.
WHEN: Thursday, January 15, through Sunday, January 18
WHERE: Historic Occidental Hotel & Saloon, 10 N. Main St., Buffalo WY 82834
